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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “church”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “church”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Church Social shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 292 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Church Content – Sermons, Events and More 3K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #1 2 Church Admin 900+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #2 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #8 ↑5 4 too low 5 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #5 6 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #11 ↓5 5 too low 7 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (221) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Advanced Sermons 1K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #23 ↓5 12 too low 12 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Church Tithe WP 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Mattytap Sermons 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Genealogical Tree – Family Tree & Ancestry for WordPress 600+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 ESV CrossReference Tool 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 Church Social 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Pk Google Analytics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 Team Builder Member Showcase 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Bible Reading Plans 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 GoPray 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 GoPrayer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓6 9 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.